Growing from adversity

submitted photo Scott Perkins, Fort Scott, standing in the back of a Kansas ambulance has made working for the betterment of others lives his life work, despite many obstacles.

In 1998, Perkins' grandfather passed away while driving a dump truck. Perkins' grandmother, who was also in the truck at the time, immediately ran for help. She found it difficult to get any motorists to stop. Eventually, another dump truck driver called 911 for her. Unfortunately, the area Perkins' grandfather was located in was not easy to find. Unable to find Perkins' grandfather, the ambulance gave up the search. According to Perkins, the family could do nothing to help his grandfather, but wait for help that never arrived. Because of this tragedy, Perkins made a promise that would determine the course of his life.

"On that day," Perkins said, "I made a promise to him (grandfather) that I would be there for someone when no one was there for him..."

According to Perkins, this promise inspired him to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Working in a local retail store allowed Perkins to raise enough money to attend EMT school.

After his graduation, Perkins was hired at Mercy Health Center as an EMT. However, working as an EMT was not enough for Perkins. He wanted to do more for people.

In 2005, Perkins took his training to another level by passing an EMT-Intermediate class, but even this did not satisfy him. He knew he could be of more help to people if he became a paramedic, so in 2006, he enrolled at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

After completing numerous tests, Perkins was accepted into the paramedic program. A few days before his classes were scheduled to begin, Perkins said he was working a crash which required him to walk up and down an incline. As he began walking up and down the slope, Perkins said his knee kept popping out of joint. Each time it would pop out, he would tell himself, "I have to keep going. The patient needs me."

He would pop his knee back in place and keep going, he said. By the time he arrived at the hospital, his leg was swollen to such a degree the swelling could be seen through his uniform. In addition, Perkins said he was experiencing excruciating throbbing, shooting pain. Seeing the condition of Perkins' knee, one of the hospital's doctors had the knee examined. It did not take physicians long to determine Perkins had developed bone cancer in his knee.

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With his paramedic classes scheduled to begin in only three days, Perkins was informed he would need to begin taking chemotherapy as soon as possible and would also need to have a total knee replacement. In addition, Perkins was given another piece of devastating news.

"I was also told I would never work EMS (Emergency Medical Services) again because my knee replacement wouldn't handle the lifting. Because of this, I had to drop out of school and quit work at Mercy," Perkins said.

Perkins immediately began a long stretch of chemotherapy treatments, which left his body weak.

"I went through five months of chemo, which was the worst experience of my life," Perkins said. "If there was a possible side effect, I got it. There was one point the doctor told me I might die because of how weak it made me and the damage it was doing to my organs."

According to Perkins, even in the midst of his personal struggles, he never quit reaching out to help others in need. On one such occasion, Perkins said he was traveling back home after having a port-a-cath, which helps make the administration of chemotherapy easier, implanted under the skin. When the vehicle he was in happened upon a car wreck, Perkins hopped out of his car and approached the other vehicle to offer assistance even though he was still feeling a little weak from the procedure. Adding at that particular time, he could only walk with the assistance of crutches. Because his femur was extremely weak, doctors had instructed him not to put any weight on it, lest it break causing the cancer to spread throughout his body. Perkins said he was not really thinking about his own health at the time.

"I was just thinking, 'I need to help her.' I couldn't do much. I held her head and calmed her down," he said.

After completing chemotherapy, undergoing a complete knee replacement and learning to walk again, Perkins was released by his doctors to return to work, but he was only released to work a desk job. This outcome was unsatisfactory to Perkins.

"That was unacceptable to me, so I pushed myself through more physical therapy until I was strong enough to lift more. I finally got approved by the doctor to work EMS again," Perkins said.

Currently, Perkins is once again working as an EMT at Mercy Health Center, and on May 12, he will attain his goal by graduating from paramedic school. For him, graduation day will hold an extra special meaning as it is his grandmother's birthday. Perkins explained that not long after his grandfather passed away, his grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and died shortly after.

When asked what gave him the strength to make it through his tragedy and press in until he reached his goal, Perkins said, "I wanted to keep my promise to my grandpa, but I also knew Jesus was with me. I've seen a lot of miracles. My family was with me, and I had it in my head I was going to keep going -- keep fighting. I knew deep down that I would be able to pull through. I was strong enough."

To this Perkins' mother added, "I have never seen anyone show such strength during such a hard time, and I never once heard him complain."

Perkins said his battle with cancer, has furthered his resolve to keep the promise he made to his grandfather. Since his recovery, he has had the opportunity to share his story with several other cancer patients, offering them hope to help them during their times of tragedy.

"Being through it (cancer), gives you a little different point of view," he said. "I can relate with them. It gives me more empathy, and I can help them."

According to Perkins, though he remained steadfast in his determination to make it through his ordeal, his recovery is not completely his doing.

"I'm living on a miracle," he said. "Anytime someone makes it through cancer it's a miracle."